All in a (single) day’s work

31,000-gallon water tank. The eight precast concrete sections were placed yesterday, amid intermittent thunderstorms. The sections have rubber gaskets between them and, basically, gravity keeping them from separating enough to leak. The sections are not tied together. The hole will be backfilled and covered with a layer of dirt before the tank is filled with water. Only a fire hydrant will be visible when it’s done.

The crane operator was not thrilled about the weather, but the site superintendent was watching the minute-by-minute forecast on the Weather Channel and called for breaks when the storm clouds rolled in. By 7:30 pm the tank was in place and the crane was loaded for transport.

The two end sections have temporary concrete access covers that will be replaced with steel covers once the tank is fitted out for the fire department. Who knows what an archeologist a thousand years from now will think this strange structure was intended for.